


Gifts of a Crystalline World

by SLWalker



Category: Justice League of America (Comics)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-10-13
Updated: 2005-10-13
Packaged: 2017-10-12 11:52:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/124552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SLWalker/pseuds/SLWalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for fanfic_100; Guy takes a walk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gifts of a Crystalline World

There were good days. Days where he didn't have to wear his self-made armor; days where he could get along with the rest of civilized society. Days where it was easier to smile than to sneer. These days seemed to be somewhat more frequent as of late, and everyone he dealt with was relieved.

Then there were days when he flipped the universe the bird.

This was one of those days.

He was scowling as he walked, breath turned to steam in the frigid air. The sidewalks, the streets, the buildings... everything was covered in dirty slush. The wind was brutal, like a knife, cutting at any bare patch of skin and at the same time ruffling his short-cropped red hair like an affectionate old friend.

He muttered as he pulled the collar of his jacket up in a pitiful attempt to save himself, but it was hopeless.

Everything, at this particular time, seemed that way.

He wasn't the only one feeling miserable and anti-social -- the only people wandering the streets were those just like him. He supposed he could have saved himself the aggravation of walking by driving, or catching a cab, but instead he walked and froze and cussed.

Somewhere, behind the scowl, he wondered if he was feeling miserable because he wanted to. Because it was the most familiar feeling he had. Then he shoved the thought aside, growled, and kept going.

The movie theater ahead had a line, and instead of shoving his way through the crowd, he cut off across the street. Going through the park would probably be a short-cut anyway, and if there was one thing he didn't want, it was to be in any proximity with another human being.

The park seemed even colder, without the city lights. But at least the snow wasn't dirty, and his boots protected him despite the fact that no one had shoveled the path. He supposed he could put up a wind block using his power ring, as there was no one else around, but instead he walked and froze and cussed.

The city sounds faded somewhat, as the moon cut down through the bare trees and cast everything blue and white and gray. It was a scene lost on the anti-social and the miserable, who wouldn't stop to take it in.

But the fact was... it was _because_ he was miserable that he stopped.

He stopped, and looked.

The clearing was ethereal; blue and white. And the trees surrounding it looked as though they had been dipped in glass and left like that... frozen and crystalline, almost sparkling in the moonlight. It was breathtaking.

She had always tried to get him to notice things. Most of the time it was other people's feelings, but sometimes it was something simple -- something beautiful and natural, soft and powerful at the same time. She had been like that herself; beautiful and natural and soft and powerful, like the crystal trees in a blue and white world.

He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, breathing in the cold, forgetting about the breeze that still bit at him. Forgetting about the misery for a moment; forgetting about the universe for longer. He didn't think about what would come after he started walking again. Maybe he would flip the universe the bird, or maybe he wouldn't.

For now, though, he thought about this beautiful thing, this world of blue and white.

This world of ice.

This was as close as he could get to her, now, but for the moment it was close enough.


End file.
